All the clubs' accounts have been completed, as have the transfer window transactions, and we look forward, particularly, to welcoming several new players who will be making their League debuts very soon. We hope the readers will enjoy reading about, and recalling, them.

Most clubs have been active in the transfer market, and some, for various reasons, have been very active, and will be fielding almost entirely new sides for the coming season.

Two clubs, Bullford and Eastroke, both of whom normally watch the cash, have each broken their spending record in an attempt to close the gap between themselves and champions Aberdither United.

There will be some minor rule changes, but one major one in that artificial surfaces are no longer permitted. (or, to put another way, the astro has been replaced.) Several clubs have new kits, mainly into heavyweight, although there are few major colour changes. Each side has had two pre-season friendly games, and there have been some interesting results.

The opening match was, as usual, the Charity Shield, which, on this occasion was a repeat of last season's Cup Final. We hope to have a report on this game very soon.

Brookfield Park, disappointingly, was not quite in pristine condition for the 05 Season opener. This was due to a breakdown of some of the groundsman's machinery. (To be more precise, we couldn't get the new iron to work.)

Aberdither were unchanged from last season. After all, "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" They have signed some new reserves who may be brought into the team during the season, should things not go well.

Hinton, now a Division Two side, had three changes from their Cup winning team. They accepted offers for centre-backs Kari Arnason and Marcel Seip to enable them to remain in Division One, and likewise for Ashley Barnes. Their new partnership at the back will be Andy Morrison and Gerry McElhinney. Don't worry, Hinton fans, as opposition forwards are sure to be marked well by these two. The new member of their strike force trio is Fred Pickering, one of the 'victims' of Eastroke's spending spree.

The match: Aberdither United 3, Hinton United 0.

Unexpectedly, the early exchanges were played at a brisk pace, although neither goalkeeper had a save to make in the first quarter. The first shot on target was an opportunist effort from winger Jones, but he wasn't able to get power into it and Southall saved easily. In reply, Bracewell's short pass was intended for Mariner to run onto, but McElhinney read the danger and the ball ended up in the crowd. On the stroke of half-time, Castle played the ball into the path of Evans, but, on the run at full stretch, his shot went narrowly wide.

Aberdither dominated the early stages of the second half, until one of Hinton's longest clearances found Stevens in an advanced right-back position. Stevens took the ball forward, and, with everyone expecting a pass, opted to shoot himself, firing the ball home to the right of keeper Cherry.
Unlike in the Cup Final, Hinton will have realised this wasn't to be their day when a right-wing corner from Kilbane was deflected into his own net by Castle. Much as Hinton tried to get back into the game, Aberdither were equally determined to keep a clean sheet, although Evans put a difficult chance narrowly wide with three minutes remaining. From the resulting goal kick, we were treated to an excellent third goal, again from an advancing full-back. The ball went out to van den Hauwe, who went forward almost to the penalty area before making a short pass to Kilbane, who slid the ball across for Mackie to fire home with a first-time strike and seal a convincing win.

There was a suggestion towards the end of last season, that teams were beginning to learn how to play against Aberdither. That did not appear to be the case in the second half today.

Next time: Our League coverage begins. Much as we would like to report on the Aberdither v Eastroke match, we also like to vary the teams we report on. So Dave Blackpool will be off to watch the much strengthened Bullford side host Hodwell, aho did so well last season to finish fifth. We hope you can join us.

There's always a sense of anticipation, and a little tension, at the start of any league campaign. Such was the case here, with both sides hoping to build upon promising progress last time. It was also to be hoped that the new players, six in total here, fit in quickly and well.

One of these, Bullford's John Connolly, was soon in the early action, when he moved inside to assist his central strikers. He set up a shot for Rafferty, which Aleksic turned around the post for a corner. The keeper was in the action again soon afterwards, when he had to twist to retrieve a deflected shot from Connolly himself. The home side had much the greater share of both territory and possession during the first half, but Hodwell's defence stuck to their task well, and Aleksic was not called upon to make another save for a long period following his two early stops. Hodwell looked dangerous when they attacked, and a passing move down the middle found Buszaky, in space, who duly gave his side the lead, less than half a minute from the interval. Bullford went for a quick reply from the restart, with a quick passing move, which finished with Rafferty slipping the ball out left for Connolly to finish off a fine personal opening half with two touches to fire home the equaliser.

Bullford tried to repeat the move at the start of the second half, but the danger was spotted and the ball cleared up the field. Unfortunately, for them, it went straight to Joe Parkinson, another debutant, who returned it back into the group of players in front of goal, where Rafferty was in the perfect place to put Bullford ahead. Three goals had been scored in sixty-five seconds of playing time. Game management is not a phrase in Bullford's vocabulary, and they continued to apply the "Attack is the best form of defence" principle. the only surprise is that there were to be no more goals. As in the first half, despite all their pressure, shots on goal were not forthcoming. Again, it was the visitors who had the more chances, albeit difficult ones, with Bannister and Buszaky each going close to levelling the score.

These two sides produced a very good game, with both looking at least as good as they were last season, although each still has some finishing work to be done.

Next time, Dave Blackpool's off to watch Eastroke Utd. host Mill Town. They normally produce a fine match, and neither will want to start the new season with two defeats. we hope you will join us. Meanwhile, as we are going back sixty years or so, and staging some league matches on Christmas Day, we intend to mark the occasion with brief reports of each match, including at least one game from the Conference.

Two matches were played today, so to mark the occasion, here is a brief report from each.

Conference: Alsworth 1, Peakville 1.
Having suffered relegation from the League at the end of last season, Alsworth have decided to make a fresh start and only three of last year's side remain. Peakville have had their troubles, too, and several of their players were transferred or released due to financial reasons.
Alsworth started the match brightly, and, but for visiting keeper Dave Walter, could easily have had the match won well before half-time. As so often happens in games like this, when the team under pressure finally gets into the game, they take the lead. On this occasion, it was Darran Rowbotham who fired the ball home in the closing stages of the first half.
For much of the second half, the area in front of the visitors' goal was very congested as the hosts strove for their deserved equaliser, but the defence stood firm. Just when it looked like being a surprise away win, the equaliser arrived, following a good piece of control, folowed by a shot, from Mark Fiore. In the closing minutes Peakville's goal had two narrow escapes, with shots, both from Jim Hinch, only narrowly off target.

Both sides felt that they had started the season well in their opening matches, and this game began with each playing with an open and attacking attitude. Hodwell's passing game was working particularly well, and it was no surprise when Bannister gave them the lead approaching the mid-point of the first half. McCarthy then added a second, but the two goal interval lead was rather harsh on Blundell City, who had contributed much to this flowing, open game.
An uncharacteristic piece of casual play in defence presented Davey with the simplest of chances to pull a goal back right at the start of the second half, and from then on Hodwell were more cautious until, with just over five minutes remaining, Bannister scored his second, and Hodwell's third, goal to make the game safe.
This had been one of the best matches of the season so far.

Each of these sides has ambitions to improve on a good season in 04, and will have been disappointed with an opening match defeat. Eastroke looked particularly determined to make a good start in this game, and from an early free kick on the half-way line, Gabriel played a good through pass to Nevin, who cut inside from the wing and struck a good shot, which Larrieu saved well. They continued to dominate the early exchanges, until, after five minutes, Nisbet dispossessed Temple by the corner flag, before playing the ball down the line to new signing Clark, who continued the brisk play by finding Wright-Phillips, running in from the right, who shot home. It was Mill Town's first attack. This became the pattern of play throughout the first half, with Eastroke having most of the territory, but Mill Town's more direct passing game, usually down either wing, producing three more goal threats, which brought the best out of Hodge.

Early in the second half, the visitors were awarded a free kick to the left of the Eastroke penalty area. Sullivan took the kick, and although the wall did its job, the defence had great difficulty in getting the ball clear. That, surprisingly, was the last goalmouth action of the match, as Eastroke's best attacking efforts were absorbed by the visitors' defence, without Larrieu being called upon to make a further save. Eastroke also looked more solid at the back, but they simply couldn't either short or long pass their way through to the keeper, either.

For those who came to see goalmouth action, the game would have been disappointing, but in reality, it was good defending which kept the score down.

Satisfactory, but plenty to work on, especially for Eastroke, if they are to repeat last season's third place finish. They are the only team in Division One without a point after two rounds of fixtures.

No team has won both its opening matches, so Bullford, Western Villa and Aberdither Utd. have mage the best starts with three points. (The league is reverting to two points for a win this season.)

Next up for us, Dave Blackpool's off to report on the 'big two', or 'battle of the giants'. For the first time were featuring Aberdither United v Melchester Rovers. It seldom disappoints, irrespective of form or positions in the table. Be sure to join us.

This is the game that fans, in particular, of both sides, want to win the most. Melchester, despite poor form in recent seasons, have as good a record against the champions as anyone. They have the belief that the way to unsettle Aberdither is the take the game to them quickly, and take them out of their comfort zone, even if it slightly disrupts their own game.
This is how the game began, with the visitors playing passes in all sorts of unusual directions. It didn't take long, though, for Melchester's Archilles heel to show up, when David Unsworth, of all people, tried to be too elaborate in his own penalty area, slipped, and Jamie Mackie, in close attendance, could hardly have missed, which he didn't. One felt that, even in the top divieion, had a player from any other team been in a similar situation in defence, the ball would almost certainly have ended up in row Z. Melchester were now left with little option other than to continue with their expansive attacking policy, and that is how the game continued. Royle shot wide from Kendall's pass, and Morrissey, cutting inside, took a short pass from Cottee, and his first-time shot went only just beyond the far post. At the other end, Kilbane ran onto Cahill's through pass, but couldn't get sufficient power into his shot, and Howard saved easily.
Aberdither attacked at the start of the second half, with Kilbane's centre finding Cahill, but the shot was off target. In reply, Cottee and Limpar both went close at the other end, with the first of those shots bringing an outstanding save from Southall. Mid-way through the half, Melchester got an equaliser when Unsworth took a throw on the left, level with Aberdither's penalty area. He found Morrissey, whose short square pass found Reid, unmarked, who fired home from just outside the area.
During the final quarter of the match, the two sides traded blows like prize fighters. Morrissey went close at one end, Mackie's shot shaved the outside of the post at the other. Labone made a last-gasp interception for Aberdither, then Stubbs did the same for Melchester. There was nearly a spectacular finish, when a long shot from Cahill went only inches wide.
So the match ended all square; possibly correctly, on balance. A skilful classic it wasn't; edge-of-the-seat stuff it certainly was. Had the match been scored by judges, it would have received barely average for technical merit, but full marks for for artistic impression and excitement.

Next time, Dave Blackpool's off to observe two sides who have each made a better start than many would have predicted, when he visits newly promoted Brimpton, who host Western Villa, who so narrowly avoided the drop at the end of last season. We hope you can join us.

Firstly, apologies for the delay in producing this match report. It is due to a short winter break and problems with the internet connection. Happily all is working well now.

Western Villa 0, Brimpton Rovers 0.

Brimpton Rovers began life as the League's smallest, and least wealthy, club. Despite having to keep the wage bill to a minimum, they have usually maintained a safe position in Division Two. Now that they have achieved the almost unthinkable, and made Division One, they have, for them, spent quite heavily on team strengthening, but their formation, 5-2-3, remains the same.
They are one of only four teams who still play in their original kit, a light blue Zeugo outfit. Ironically they aren't wearing it for this match, switching to red and white, due to a colour clash with Western's blue and white version of the Monaco kit, provided by Santiago.

Western were first into their stride, with, after two minutes, new signing Joe Mason going close after a passing move which began inside their own penalty area. At the other end, a move down the right between Marshall and Alessandra ended with the latter going close. As both these sides could be described as accurate and careful rather than flamboyant, it was not a surprise that there were only two more scoring opportunities in the first half, with Mason, again, and Randell going close.

The second half continued in the same manner, with only four attempts on goal, all for the hosts, from McCall, Skinner, twice, and in the dying seconds, from other new striker Ashley Barnes, who possibly might have done better with the best opportunity of the game.

So the match ended goalless. It would have scored high marks for technical merit, but nowhere near as many for excitement, although it was always tense and never dull. Both sides will be fairly happy that they are in mid-table in the early stages of the season.

Next time: We're going to feature Ellerfield Athletic, who are visiting Flimside. The visitors were new to the Conference last season, and finished unbeaten. They have just suffered defeat for the first time in a League match, going down by the only goal to Mill Athletic. Dave blackpool's looking forward to introducing them to you. We hope you can join us, and that we get him to the right ground, after confusion over the venue for this game.

Ellerfield Athletic are one of the League's newest clubs, joining the Conference last season. they proved to be a thorough outfit, finishing the season unbeaten. Their only defeat coming at Bullford, 1-2, in the First Round of the Cup. After spending quite heavily on their midfield, they started this current season where they left off, only suffering their first defeat to Mill Athletic in their last match.
Hosts Flimside have also relied on midfield strength and creativity for a while, and for this season have brought in some attacking prowess, (they hope) with the purchase of three new strikers.

To set the scene, the casual observer may think Newcastle United (in a lightweight kit) are playing Forfar Athletic (in a Top Spin kit).

In the opening exchanges, the teams were striving for midfield supremacy. The first shot came after four minutes, when Burnside shot wide from Wylde's corner. Ellerfield soon made amends when Billy, in his right-back position, slipped while dwelling on the ball, Wylde was on hand to dispossess him, centred, and Banks was in the right place to slot the ball home. They only held the lead for about ninety seconds though, as Collins played a fine long pass for Ebanks-Blake to control, slip his marker, and fire home the equaliser. How simple such a move looks when it works as well as that. Even though the half was only just beyond its mid-point, there was no more goalmouth action, as Flimside's hard-working defence, and Ellerfield's well-organised one, made sure they gave nothing away.

The hosts began the second half the brighter, with target man Ebanks-Blake this time receiving Bhasera's through pass from the left side of the half-way line. This time his goal bound shot produced an excellent save from Bala'c. Collins then produced another fine pass for patterson to run onto, but his shot went just wide. Following these scares, Ellerfield defended solidly and in depth, and it was Flimside who always looked the more likely to score a winner. The game, in truth, became rather disappointing as Flimside themselves, after a moderate start to the season, were reluctant to over commit, especially with their attacking full-backs, given their opponent's dangerous potential on the break.

Next time: As Bullford have opened up an early three point lead, and are visiting second placed Brimpton Rovers next, it seems the obvious place to find Dave Blackpool reporting, and that is where he will be. We hope you will be with us.

Preview. After five games, Bullford, with nine points, have a three point lead in Division One, with a further three points separating the other nine teams. In second place, on goal difference, are Brimpton Rovers, which makes this match a top-of-the-table clash. A win for Bullford could open up a large gap over most of their chasers, whereas victory for the home side would take them to within one point of the top.

Both these sides wear Zeugo kits, having not changed from the early days, with Brimpton playing in light blue and white (Napoli) and Bullford in orange and black stripes (Shakhtar Donesk).

This match is expected to be a battle of contrasting tactics, with Brimpton's 5-3-2 formation making more attacking use of their full-backs these days, but with a direct 4-2-4 system against them, with all front men, including two wingers, always staying well forward, their backs' attacking adventures may be somewhat restricted today. We shall see.

The match: Brimpton Rovers 2, Bullford 0.

Bullford got off to a nightmare start, when, after seventy-two seconds, Aljofree's attempt to clear the ball in the penalty area, resulted in a charge on Marshall. Seip made no mistake with the penalty. After that, Bullford just couldn't get their game going, possibly because their opponents kept playing long passes between the defenders for their forwards to run onto. It didn't lead to many shooting chances, but it did succeed in preventing Bullford's defenders getting the ball comfortably and returning it back into the Brimpton danger area with just a couple of quick, long passes themselves. Back in the Bullford half, a long pass by Seip was chased down by Delve, and his shot was well saved by Rankin. The game was into its second quarter when Hinchcliffe, in an advanced left-back position, played the ball in for Rafferty, whose shot was was turned around the post by Crudgington. This lead to a spell of Bullford pressure, during which a goalbound shot from Connolly was blocked by Delve, with the keeper beaten. In the last minute of the half, from a Brimpton break, Book had to scramble the ball away for a corner. From it, Brimacombe's kick found Marshall, unmarked, who shot home to double the lead.

Bullford had the better of the exchanges in the second half, without getting their game flowing by any stretch of the imagination. They managed the only two shots at goal in the entire half. From the first, Seip, who had a good match, managed to block King's shot, and very late on, King turned provider when he played a short pass right to Noone, and his shot shaved the far post.

So Brimpton held on, to go within one point of the leaders. In truth, the match didn't produce much entertainment or goalmouth action for the spectators, but the victors will point out that Bullford's high scoring attack was restricted to just a few shots.

Preview Pressley Rangers have become one of the League's sleeping giants. They are one of the original clubs, have nearly always been thereabouts, and as recently as 02 were League Champions. That was followed by a surprise relegation in 03, in addition to reaching the Cup Final.
Like others before them, they have not found a lower division easy to escape from, although, despite several of the players who brought them success having left, they believe they have a side which is capable of getting them back to the top. Economic necessities, though, dictate that there are a few less well-known faces in the team these days.
Their opponents today are Greyston Town, whose own results in recent times have fluctuated, to say the least. They were relegated to the Conference after 01, only to return to the new Division Two in 03, when they only failed to win promotion on goal difference. Last season, though, they escaped a return to the Conference by only one point. They have, following the recruitment of a few new players, started this season well, topping Division Two with an unbeaten record after six matches.
Both sides play in Subbuteo lightweight kits these days, with Pressley in a traditional red shirts, white shorts (No. 1), and Greyston in yellow shirts, green trim, with green shorts.

The match: Pressley Rangers 2, Greyston Town 1.

The game got off to a lively start when, after two minutes, Connolly's pass almost along the right touchline found Heath, who shot into the side netting. Greyston replied with a move of several passed out of defence ending with Corazzin also shooting just wide. As the game provided openings at each end, McAuley went close from Coughlin's pass, and Clayton's shot was blocked as three defenders surrounded him. At the other end, Smith's cross from the left was nodded on by Rideout, only for Heath, at full speed, to mis-kick his shot, and the ball was scrambled away. From Greyston's resulting attack, Barker intercepted the ball, but completely misplaced his pass out of defence straight to Clayton, who fired home to put Greyston ahead.

That was the half-time score, slightly unfortunate on pressley who had contributed much to this even, flowing game. They made a positive start to the second half when, in their first attack, Rideout held the ball up for Smith to run in and go very with his shot. With their next attack, Pressley drew level when Barker advanced to take a throw on the left, level with the penalty area. From this, Smith and clayton played several short passes before setting up the full-back, who fired home to redeem his earlier error. As the game entered its final third, it was Pressley who were doing the more advancing. Corazzin shot just wide, and the a Furnell clearance was gathered by Osman in midfield, and following three passes between him and Rideout, the centre-forward hammered home what turned out to be the winning goal. Pressley played a little more cautiously in the closing minutes, and Kenyon had to be alert to intercept Clayton's flick on from Taylor's free kick to prevent a clear opening for an equaliser, and Pressley held on for what was only their second win of the season, in this exciting contest.

We hope the top clubs are not going to treat our presence with suspicion in future, as Greyston became the second team in successive games to lose both their unbeaten record and place at the top of the table in our featured match.